Earlier Thursday afternoon, the Toronto Raptors decided to hold steady and not trade star point guard Kyle Lowry.
NBA insider Shams Charania reported the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat were seriously considering a trade for Lowry. However, the two teams reportedly weren’t willing to give up their star young guards Talen Horton-Tucker (Lakers) and Tyler Herro (Heat).
Later Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported another reason teams were hesitant to trade for Lowry. He’ll be a free agent after the season and teams weren’t sure he would commit to a longterm contract.
“In making trade offers for Kyle Lowry, teams had to take into consideration whether he would turn out to be a rental for the season — or if they would be able to meet his contract expectations to stay in free agency,” Woj said on Twitter. “That impacted how far teams were willing to go on him.”
Instead of landing with a contender, Lowry will play out the remainder of the season as a member of the Raptors.
However, after this season ends, he’ll be free to sign wherever he wants. Lowry started his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies and spent some time with the Houston Rockets.
He’s been with the Raptors since 2012, but could end up playing for the fourth different team of his NBA career when the 2021-2022 season kicks off.